LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Despite the uncertainty of the impending election, California employment has reached record levels and employment will likely continue to grow over the next two years, according to a UCLA economic forecast released Wednesday.

UCLA Anderson Forecast senior economist Jerry Nickelsburg wrote that the number of payroll jobs in the state has reached 16.5 million, up 6.7 percent from its previous peak. Factoring in farm labor and self-employment, the number of people working is at a record 18.2 million, up 7 percent from its previous high, according to Nickelsburg.

“How long can this go on?” Nickelsburg asked. “In less than two months, there will be a presidential election and on Jan. 20, 2017, less than four months away, a new president will be inaugurated. Who that president will be is unknown, but to be sure, whomever it might be will impact the forecast for California.”

Also looming large on the state’s economic horizon are two measures on the November ballot — Proposition 55’s proposed sales tax extension and Proposition 64’s proposed legalization of recreational marijuana use.